Container-emptying roll-over with gas-fluidizing cap



May 31, 1966 H. N. K. PATON 3,253,725

CONTAINER-EMPTYING ROLL-OVER WITH GAS-FLUIDIZING CAP Original Filed March 25, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 19" 3. z 1 INVENTOR.

I/AflllIO/Y I/fll Irma IATOIY 40 X By M a); M

May 31, 1966 H. N. K. PATON 3,253,725

CONTAINER-EMPTYING ROLL-OVER WITH GAS-FLUIDIZING CAP Original Filed March 23, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. l/ANILTUIY [IE/l KIM? B9700 BY WM W ATTORl/f) United States Patent 11 Claims. or. 214-314 The present invention relates to a roll-over type of container-dumping mechanism utilizing a cap for the container by which gas is supplied to fiuidize material or powder in the container for the purpose of emptying it through adischarge aperture in the cap. Such contamer-emptying cap is attachable to a container at a destination in place of its usual lid. This application is a division of my application Ser. No. 181,981 filed March 23, 1962, now abandoned, for gas-fluidizing container emptying cap.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a support including a material-fluidizing cap which will expedite emptying granular material or powder -from containers without the necessity of providing any other opening in the container. Such supports and caps can be provided in several sizes to fit difierent standard containers, so that such a fluidizing cap can readily replace a conventional lid.

It is a further object to provide container-handling mechanism associated with such a gas-fiu'idizing cap which will enable the cap to be applied to a container and thereafter enable the container to be positioned easily with the cap beneath the container for supporting the contents of the container.

It is also an object to provide a gas-fiuidizing cap of a single size which can be applied to containers of various sizes, shapes and types, such as metal, wood or card- 3,253,725 Patented May 31, less ing frame and a container held therein to which a container-emptying cap has been applied, with parts broken awa Fl GURE 2 is a side elevation of a somewhat difierent hoop type inverting frame and a container received therein.

FIGURE 3 is an elevation of such frame and o0ntainer taken perpendicular to the elevation of 1 FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a top perspective of still a different type of inverting trame in which a container, is mounted with a container-emptying cap applied thereto and having parts broken away.

FIGURE 5 is an elevation of such inverting frame.

purpose of emptying such material from the container,

board drums. Moreover, the caps may be of a size to cover the entire end of a container or hopper bottom on a container.

The foregoing objects can be accomplished by provision of a roll-over type of container-supporting frame which is equipped with a gas-fluidizing cap that can be attached to a container mounted in the frame. Such cap can be composed of a pan having in it spaced from its bottom a porous partition and a discharge duct which opens toward the top of the pan. Preferably such partition is inclined toward the discharge opening, the partition either being dished with the discharge opening in its central portion, or the partition sloping sidewise and the discharge duct being connected to the lower portion of the pan. A plenum chamber is formed between the partition and the bottom of the plan and a fluidiz'ing gas supply pipe is connected to the plenum chamber for supplying gas under pressure which will permeate the partition to fluidize the material in the container above it. The lip of the cap may have in it a groove to fit an end or opening in the container, both to locate the cap in proper position relative to the container and to provide a seal between the cap and the container, and the cap can be secured in such position by a clamping band. The cap can also be secured to the container by additional clamping mechanism which may be applied to the container while the opening in the container to which the cap is applied is in upwardly-opening position, and after the cap has been secured in place the container can be inverted to locate the cap at the bottom of the container. Such clamping mechanism is associated with the hoop frame by which the container can be supported to enable it to be rolled into inverted position easily.

FIGURE 1 is atop perspective of a hoop type invertit. In FIGURE 1 such a container but no equipment has been provided to enable this process of material handling to be utilized for emptying material from containers of conventional type. Moreover, the fluidizing equipment has been constructed as an integral part of the container so that it was necessary to employ the fluidizing procedure in every instance in which material was removed from the container. The present invention provides a gas-fluidizing containeremptying cap attachable to containers of various standard types without modification of such containers. Al-

ternatively, such a container-emptying cap can be secured detachably to various types of containers, or can be mounted permanently on containers with minimum modification of them being required.

A typical application for such a container-emptying cap is a conventional small, cylindrical drum made of metal, plywood, or paperboard, one entire end of which may be closed by a lid. The container-emptying cap can be of a size, shape and construction to be substituted for the lid of such a container when it is desired to empty 1 is shown as having attached to it a gas-fluidizing container-emptying cap of the present invention and mounted in a container-dumping stand which may be employed conveniently in the container-emptying operation.

The cap is composed of a pan 2 of sheet material, such as plastic or noncorrodible metal, for example, aluminum alloy or stainless steel. A partition similar to that shown in FIGURE 7 at 5, 6 is spaced from the bottom of the pan to form a plenum chamber 3 to which gas under pressure is supplied by a gas supply pipe 4 entering the circumferential wall of the cap. The partition is gas permeable, being composed of a perforate plate 5 supporting a porous mat 6 which preferably is of cellular urethane material or fabricated from bonded fine rubber particles, the cells of which are interconnected to enable gas to pass through the mat and emanate substantally uniformly irom its surface.

An outlet duct 7 shown in FIGURE 1 is connected to the partition in which the discharge opening 8 communicating with such outlet duct is provided. The pan 2 and the partition within it are circular and the outlet duct is located in the center of the partition. Such partition is dished so that the fiuidiz-ing surface slopes slightly toward the discharge opening to facilitate flow of the fluidized material to such opening.

The cap can be secured on the container 1 in various ways. In the particular instance illustrated in FIGURE 1 it is assumed that the gas-fluidizing cap will be attached to the container 12in place of the conventional lid which normally closes the entire end of the drum shown.

The gas supply pipe 4 and the material discharge duct 7 areconnected to the pan 2 at an angle of less than 180 degrees, so that the cap can be placed in the frame with both connections being made at one side of the frame. The portion 7 of the outlet duct carried by the cap need extend only from the discharge opening through the wall of the pan 2, at which location it can be connected to a conveyor pipe of either flexible or rigid type extending to a location at which it is desired to deposit the contents of the container. The flow of material through the outlet duct and conveyor pipe can be controlled by a valve swin'gable to a desired regulating position by the handle 24 connected to the valve shaft.

In dumping a drum 1 without the benefit of a roll-over frame it would be necessary to exert a considerable amount of physical force to upend the drum after the gas-fiuidizing cap has been attached to it as a substitute for the drum lid. The hoop type of rollable drum-inverting frame shown in the drawings facilitates greatly the upending of a drum. This frame includes a platform 39 on which the drum may be set with its open end up.

From one or both sides of the platform 39 a rocker 40 curves upwardly and if two of such rockers are provided the space between their upper ends can be bridged by a plate 41 having one edge hingedly mounted on the upper portion of a rocker and its other edge engageable with the upper portion of the other rocker. The rockers may be proportioned so that when the plate 41 is swung into its lowered position it will engage the bottom of the pan 2. Inward swinging of the plate 41 also can be limited by engagement of such plate with a strut or post 42 mounted on the platform 39. When the plate 41 is in its lowered position it may suitably be secured in place.

To apply the gas-fiuidizing cap to the drum 1 of FIG- URE 1 and mount the drum in the container-dumping frame the lid will first be removed from the drum while it is supported on its bottom on platform 39. Next, the cap in inverted position is placed on the drum full of material and the cap is secured to the drum. The fluidizing cap is further held in place by swinging the plate 41 from the broken line position shown in FIGURE 1 into the solid line position. The frame can be rolled on one or the other of the rockers 40 carrying the drum 1 with it until it has reached its inverted position supported on the gas-fiuidizing cap. To facilitate handling, the conveyor pipe should not be connected to the outlet duct at this time and the valve controlled by handle 24 should be in closed position so as to prevent any accidental discharge of material from the drum through the outlet duct.

In order to accomplish the container-emptying operation the conveying pipe is connected to the outlet duct 7 and the gas supply pipe 4 is connected to the plenum chamber of the cap. Gas under pressure may then be supplied through the pipe 4 for permeating the partition 5, 6 shown in FIGURE 7 to fluidize the material in the drum. If the outlet valve is now opened by swinging handle 24 the fluidized material will flow out of the drum through the outlet duct 7. The rate of material discharge can be regulated both by controlling the amount of fiuidizing gas supplied by the pipe 4 and by adjusting the position of the control valve in the outlet duct by manipulating the valve handle. Even the slight slope of the upper surface of the caps partition shown in FIG- URE 7 will be sufficient to cause all of the material in the drum to be emptied from it through the discharge duct '7 because of the fiuidizing action of the gas supplied to the material in the container through the partition 5, 6 of the cap.

When the drum has thus been emptied the conveyor pipe can be disconnected from the outlet duct 7, the supply of gas under pressure through the pipe 4 can be shut off and such pipe will be disconnected from the gasfluidizing cap. The framernay then be rolled back into the position shown in FIGURE 1, after which the plate 41 can be swung upward to facilitate access to the gasfluidizing cap and the cap can be removedfrom the drum.

In FIGURES 2 and 3, the container 1 has a gas-fluidizing cap including the pan 2 to which the gas supply pipe 4 is connected, as previously described in connection with FIGURE 1. Such cap also has an outlet duct 7' which extends from the pan diametrically opposite the connection 4. In this instance, however, the rocker frame 40 is stiffened by struts or posts 42 forming chords of the circular frame instead of the strut or post extending diametrically, as shown in FIGURE 1. Between the posts 42, the rocker supports the platform 39' forming a chord of the frame on which the container 1 can rest when in the upright position of FIGURES 2 and 3.

A somewhat different type of container-inverting frame is shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6. A housing 43 is mounted centrally within a circular hoop frame composed of channel rings 44 disposed with their flanges projecting outwardly. These rings are connected by crossbars 45 to complete the frame. Each of the channel rings is cradled on rollers 46 which fit between the flanges of the channel rings 44. One pair of these rollers can be driven positively by suitable power mechanism including a motor 47 which drives a speed reducer 48 connected to shaft 49 on which the rollers 46 are supported. As the motor 47 is energized to turn rollers 46 the rings 44 will be rotated slowly to invert the housing 43.

Instead of the housing 45 constituting a container for powdered or granular material, such housing serves as an enclosure in which a drum or other relatively small container of powdered or granular material may be placed. For this purpose the housing has a large opening 50 in one wall preferably capable of being closed by a suitable door. An internal grating partition 51, located nearer end 52 of the container than the opposite end, is spaced a substantial distance from end 52. Between the partition 51 and the container end 52 is a gas-fiuidizing cap, including pan 2, to which gas under pressure is supplied through the pipe 4.

A receptacle from which powdered or granular material is to be emptied can be inserted into the housing 43 through the opening 50 with the open end of such container up. The receptacle will then be secured properly within the housing so that it cannot slide about or tilt in an undesirable manner. Next, the motor 47 is energized to turn rollers 46 for revolving the inverting frame to invert the housing 43. The receptacle within the housing if not held in fixed position may slide downward'to some extent as the hoop frame is revolved so that the open end of the receptacle eventually will rest on the grating partition 51 and the contents of such receptacle will empty through the grating While the receptacle itself is supported by its open end on the grating.

When the contents of the receptacle has been dumped into the housing 43 such housing itself serves as a container of the powdered or granular material. Gas under pressure supplied through the pipe 4 will effect discharge of such material from the housing 43 serving as a container, but because the housing end 52 is nearly flat some of this material will not be moved onto the cap simply by the fiuidizing action. In the housing 43 between the grating partition 51 and the gas-fiuidizing cap is therefore provided a flexible dump wall 53, the outer edge of which is secured around the wall of the housing. The inner edge of such dump wall is secured around the rim of the gas-fiuidizing ca-p.

When little or no more material will flow from the housing or container 43 to the gas-fiuidizing cap by gravity, gas under pressure may be supplied through the pipe 54 to the space between the housing wall and the flexible dump wall 53 which will move from the full line position of FIGURE 7 to the broken line position and thereby transfer material at the sides of the housing or container onto the gas-fiuidizing cap. Where the cap does not rest on a supporting surface the outlet duct 7", as shown in FIGURE 7, may extend straight downward through the center of the cap for connection to a con-' veyor pipe.

I claim:

1. A container-emptying device comprising a hoop, a gas-fluidizing cap including an end wall and a circumferential well received in said hoop and having a gas supply port and a fluidized material discharge port in its circumferential wall, and a container mounted in said hoop, having an aperture communicating with said gas-fluidizing cap and invertible by turning of said hoop from a position in which said gas-fluidizing cap is superimposed on said container into a position in which said container is superimposed on said gas-fluidizing cap.

2. The container-emptying device defined in claim 1, in which the gas-fluidized cap is applied to one end of the container, and the length of the container extends substantially diametrally of the hoop.

3. The container-emptying device defined in claim 2, in which the hoop includes a chordal member disposed substantially parallel to the length of the container.

4. The container-emptying device defined in claim 3, in which the chordal member is a member extending substantially diametrally of the hoop.

5. The container-emptying device defined in claim 3, in which the hoop includes two parallel chordal members located at opposite sides of said container and ad jacent to it.

6. The container-emptying device defined in claim 1, in which the hoop includes a member extending circumferentially of the hoop engageable with the fiuidizing cap, and hinged for swinging away from circumferentially extending position into an open position to expose the gas-fluidizing cap.

7. The container-emptying device defined in claim 1, in which the container includes a housing for receiving the grating and .the gas-fluidizing cap, and air-supply means operable to supply air between said dump Wall and the wall of the container for deflecting said dump wall away from the container Wall for dumping material from the marginal portion of the container onto the gas-fluidizing cap.

10. The container-emptying device defined in claim 1, in which the hoop includes a pair of generally circular members spaced apart axially of such members.

11. The container-emptying device defined in claim 10, container-supporting rollers and the axially spaced hoop members constitute generally circular tracks respectively, which are respectively engageable with support- .ing rollers for facilitating circumferential movement of the hoop during inversion of the container into an emptying position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,854,130 4/1932 Francis 214-312 2,969,038 1/ 1961 Neumann 30229 3,099,497 7/1963 Albert 214-83.28

FOREIGN PATENTS 64,708 12/1955 France.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CONTAINER-EMPTYING DEVICE COMPRISING A HOOP, A GAS-FLUIDIZING CAP INCLUDING AN END WALL AND A CIRCUMFERENTRIAL WALL RECEIVED IN SAID HOOP AND HAVING A GAS SUPPLY PORT AND A FLUIDIZED MATERIAL DISCHARGE PORT IN ITS CIRCUMFERENTIAL WALL, AND A CONTAINER MOUNTED IN SAID HOPP, HAVING AN APERTURE COMMUNICATING WITH SAID GAS-FLUIDIZING CAP AND INVERTIBLE BY TURNING OF SAID HOOP FROM A POSITION IN WHICH SAID GAS-FLUIDIZING CAP IS SUPERIMPOSED ON SAID CONTAINER INTO A POSITION IN WHICH SAID CONTAINER IS SUPERIMPOSED ON SAID GAS-FLUIDIZING CAP. 